Fate of the Fallen
by Small Black Kitten
Summary: After Frigga dies, Loki disappears. He reappears 4 years later in the hands of people offering him to Shield for ransom. It would have been fine if Cherry wasn't working for Shield, and if Loki wasn't forced to work with her to find remaining Chitauri. Nobody knows how Loki got on Midgard, or why he seems different, or that Thor has been looking for him this whole time. AU Post-TDW
1. Chapter 1

Cherry bolted across the rooftops, jumping over the thin alleys below. She jumped too far and her foot slipped, causing her to trip, but she was back up in a second. She grabbed her rifle off her back and crouched down on the rooftop, five stories up. Cars zipped by on roads to her left and people walked on the sidewalk. She had to be careful.

"Don't hit any civilians. Just Carlos." The person in her earpiece instructed.

"Yeah yeah. I know. Jeez. Give me some credit." Cherry responded.

"Is he within your sights?"

Cherry peered through her sniper scope into the crowd. There was a shifty man in a dark blue shirt, with tattooed arms and a briefcase. She knew a bomb was in the briefcase, and if she didn't stop him soon, he would ignite it, killing hundreds. And all for what? A few thousand bucks. Carlos disgusted her. He reminded her of her ex-boyfriend. Cherry grinned at this. Every bad guy reminded her of Damian.

"Agent Sparks? Report."

"Sorry, Matt. He's within my sights. Should I shoot?" Cherry hated procedure. She just wanted to kill him and be done with it.

"Don't Kill. Repeat. Do not kill. Set to stun. Fury wants to interrogate him and find his employers." Matt replied over the earpiece.

Cherry rolled her eyes. "Can't you just talk normal? I mean… you sound like a robot. Unless it's robot day at Shield. You know what? I think every day is robot day at Shield. You guys are all too serious. You can't even take a joke!"

"Agent Sparks! Pay attention! Take him down!"

"Fine!" Cherry said into her earpiece.

She zoomed in on her sniper scope. She clicked in her stun darts and steadied her aim. She pulled the trigger and the man dropped to the ground a few seconds later. Cherry grinned. "Carlos is down! Does this mean I can go home? It's past ten."

"Shield is taking Carlos in custody. You can go home." Matt replied from the other side. Cherry watched as several agents defused the bomb and cuffed Carlos, taking him prisoner.

Cherry swung her sniper across her back and stood up, stretching. "Another good day of work. Gosh… why can't I just snipe him when I see him?"

"Protocol, Agent Sparks."

Cherry turned around, just in time to see a fist. Then, everything went black.

* * *

><p>Cherry groaned, rubbing her head. She sat up in the dark cell. She reached for her sniper, but it was gone, as was her belt and earpiece. She was defenseless. They had even taken the knife she kept in her boot. Great. She had been planning to get a good night's sleep, and now she was in a danky cell with a creepy person sitting across from her. Wait… who was this creepy person? "Hey." She greeted.<p>

The dark figure didn't respond. Cherry scooted closer. "Hello?" She waved her hand in front of the figure's face. His blue eyes snapped open. She had seen him before. But where? The man stared at him with such a dull and blank stare, she didn't know what to think. Was someone even in there? "Hey! Anybody in there?"

The man looked up at her. It took him almost five minutes for him to even start reacting. In that time, Cherry studied him more. He looked… crippled. His face was burnt and cut up. His clothes were basically rags. His arms and legs were chained and he was slumped against the wall like a rag doll. He blinked a few times at her, a sign of life filling his eyes. And then, dread. He coughed and scooted away from her. What made her really sick was the metal muzzle covering his mouth. She recognized him.

It was Loki. The man who had invaded Earth and tried to enslave everyone. Naturally, she was angry. No. She was furious. "Loki?" She asked, trying to keep her anger under control.

Loki looked up at her with indifference. He turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. Cherry reached over and touched his shoulder. This shook him awake. He backed into the corner of the cell like a caged animal, and she guessed he would be screaming if it weren't for the muzzle. "Hey! Calm down!"

This made Loki more upset. She could hear his struggled breathing through his nose. His eyes were wide in fear, scanning her for weapons.

"Do you have any idea where we are, Lokes?" Cherry asked.

Of course, Loki didn't respond. "Is there a way to take the muzzle off?"

This made Loki even more frantic. He clawed at the muzzle, covering it from her sight the best he could, as if she would hurt him if it was taken. "Okay okay! No way of taking it off!"

The cell doors banged open and Loki curled into a defensive ball. "Sorry about having to share a cell. We ran out of space. So… Cherry Sparks. I've heard about you." A tall man ducked through the door.

"Cool. Does that mean I'm famous or have you just been stalking me?"

The tall man chuckled. "I guess you could say a little bit of both."

"Hey, I really appreciate being abducted and all, but I was planning on a cup of cocoa and a cheesy movie when I got home."

"I apologize, but your plans will be delayed permanently."

"Oh great… you're not another one of those people that wants to ransom me to my uncle. I'll tell you right now, he and I aren't very close. He's turned down seven offers so far, not caring if I die and I've had to fight my way out of every situation."

"I am sure he will accept a packaged deal." The man smirked evilly, all playful banter set aside now.

Cherry sighed, rolling her eyes visibly. "So does this mean I'm stuck here with Creepy?" She asked, pointing at Loki.

The tall man glared at her. "That is enough. I bid you the best of luck with this piece of trash." And with that, the man turned to leave.

Cherry frantically looked around the cell for anything she could use, settling on her boot. She slipped her boots off her feet and sprang towards the now closing door, lodging her shoe in the doorway, the man cursing as she kicked the door and it flew open, slamming into the man's forehead. He slumped to the floor, a boot-wielding Cherry standing over him.

Guards were on her in seconds. She swung the hard, metal heel of her boot into the first guard's face. The second man grabbed her arms, twisting them behind her and fumbling for some cuffs. Cherry had the courtesy to laugh as she slammed her elbow into his face, sweeping a leg under him and pushing his head down as he lost balance and fell.

She looked back at the tall man, seeing a communication device on his belt, or at least hoping that's what it was, as she dived for it. The guards were on her heel, her cold and very bare feet catching on something, sending her sprawling to the ground, crawling towards her objective. Flipped onto her back, the first guard towering over her, snarling. She held back a laugh, thinking how stupid these people were, as she nailed him in the eye with a strong kick from the heel of her foot, the man falling off her.

She scrambled to her feet, hearing the showering of footsteps in the outside corridor. She grabbed the communicator off the man's belt, only to find out it was a taser. "What?!" A coppery taste filled her mouth as she bit the inside of her cheek trying not to scream. "A taser! You couldn't at least have given me a gun? Or a phone? Or some sort of map thingy? Not even a pair of keys?"

She patted the man's belt and found nothing besides a pair of cuffs. She took the cuffs and taser, prepared to do anything, when the footfalls she had heard earlier burst through the door, bright light blinding her.

The first person through the door charged towards her. She pointed the taser at the man and fired, her aim never off, hitting him in the chest. He convulsed, falling to the floor in a fitful seizure.

The second person appeared to be a woman. Cherry soon found the taser had been kicked out of her hand, a fist crunching against her jaw. Cherry fell backwards, losing her balance, the cuffs flying from her grasp. The woman was on top of her,

"Wait!" She heard the man say.

"What?" The woman snapped.

"I think that's her." The man staggered to his feet, having recovered abnormally fast.

Cherry struggled under the woman's grip. The woman's steely grey eyes narrowed as she flicked her red hair out of her face. "Nat?" Cherry asked, ceasing her struggling.

"Oh. It's you." Natasha replied, standing up and holding out a hand to Cherry.

"Who's tha… Oh. It's Captain America. " Cherry stretched her back.

"You have impressive aim." The Captain nodded, breathing hard.

"Sorry about that… You didn't exactly come at the best time for me to be trusting people… So Uncle Fury really does care about me?" She asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"No. We came for the other part of the 'packaged deal'." Natasha stated blandly.

Cherry fought back the bitter taste of disappointment and turned to the cell she had previously been in. "He's probably passed out. He wasn't looking too good."

"He was in there with you?" The Captain asked.

"Yeah-"

"Did he compromise you?" Natasha cut in quickly, her sharp gaze looking over Cherry's form.

Cherry rolled her eyes. "No. In fact, he wouldn't even talk to me. I don't think he's had a very good week… Do I get to come back with you or do I have to walk home?"

"I don't think it would be wise to walk home, seeing as you're on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean." The Captain commented.

"Great." And with that, Cherry pulled on both of her boots and waited glumly in the corner as they retrieved the other half of her package.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki's mind was hazy as he opened his eyes, his ears ringing, his surroundings blurring together into a nothingness he didn't care for. His hands were limp at his sides, but he could tell there were restraints to hold him in place.

His eyes lazily drifted to his right arm where there was a metal device filled with liquids flowing into his arms. A group of men entered the room with clipboards, scribbling notes down as they prodded at him, lifting his eyelid and shining a bright light into his eye, making his eye water, a tear falling down his face.

Voices warbled all around him, faces becoming disproportionate and blurry. His fingers tingled and twitched as if they had a mind of their own. His vision was fading. Then it was gone.

And he was asleep.

* * *

><p>Tony sighed, tossing a rubber ball into the air and catching it. "Hey, Pep! When are you going to finish that meeting thing?" He asked the phone in his hand.<p>

"Oh! I don't know at all! Maybe soon, maybe later!" He mimicked her voice.

"No hurry! You don't have to tell me either! I'll be sitting right here... all day... working on my Iron Man suit... drinking over-carbonated Sprite..."

He threw the phone at the nearest couch and groaned. Pepper hadn't called him in three days now, and he was getting bored. He had gotten arrested twice, drank too many bottles of Sprite (Pepper wouldn't let him drink alcohol while she was away), and destroyed one of his suits. He chucked the rubber ball at the nearest wall a few times before it flew away from him. He was too lazy to get up and get it.

"Sir, there is a Shield Agent who wishes to speak with you. Shall I let her in?" The AI in the ceiling asked.

"No. I don't really want to talk to Shield right now."

It was silent for a moment before Jarvis came back on. "The Shield Agent has bypassed my protocols and is on her way in."

Tony sighed and sipped at his fourth Sprite that day.

A woman came through the doors a few seconds later. At first, Tony thought it was Natasha. But it wasn't. Her hair was a red velvet color, and she was a little taller. About as tall as Pepper, if you subtracted the black stilettos the lady was wearing. A pair of shades, in which he could see his reflection, covered her eyes. A black cat suit with a Shield badge, along with two guns, were strapped onto her hips.

"Yes! Natasha has finally been replaced!" Tony grinned.

The woman grinned too, surprising the billionaire. Shield Agents never grinned. Or smiled. Or laughed. He had once spent an hour trying to tickle a laugh or smile out of a Shield guard that stands outside the control room.

"Sadly, no." The woman responded, her perfectly straight teeth glinting with the grin. "And I don't look at all like her. Just because I have red hair..." She was cut short as the Agent on the other end of her earpiece told her to focus.

"Fine! Whatever... Yeah... wait... Carl? Ugh, Agent Farner? When does my shift end? What?! Four more hours?" Tony watched in amusement as this went on for another few minutes before Agent Farner cut off the connection. "Sorry about that. There are some people who are a bit too grumpy."

"What does Fury want now?" Tony asked, chucking his empty Sprite bottle at the couch with the phone.

"He needs the Avengers to have a little get together at the Helicarrier. Something about that dude named Loki."

The named sent chills down his back as he remembered what had happened just a year ago. The woman seemed not to feel any importance for the name, as if Loki were just another average criminal.

"Tell Fury I'll be there." Tony sighed, rubbing his temples.

* * *

><p>Cherry put her car into park, turning it off. She sat there in silence, listening to the nothingness that filled her ears. She had only been gone for a few hours, her captors inexperienced and foolish enough to leave a trail right to her and Loki, contact the Heli to ask for ransom, and post minimal guards outside her cell, using a normal metal door instead of a sliding door, which would have made it impossible for her to swing open and crack the man in the forehead with blunt force.<p>

Common prisoner knowledge.

Dealing with the Avengers was stressful. She had talked to Tony Stark and Bruce Banner today, trying to convince them that Shield had nobody better but them to do a certain job that involved their old pal, Loki.

She sighed, grabbing her purse which held only her phone, shield badge, and some change. She pulled out her phone and turned it on, checking her texts. There were three texts from Damian and one text from her little sister, Abby.

do you know where the mac and cheese is

Cherry turned off her phone and put it back in her purse. Her sister lived with her, and now that she was home, she could just tell her where it was.

She got out of her car, swinging her sniper over her shoulder like a purse, locked her car and walked up the steps to her townhouse, fumbling for her keys. She could hear sirens in the distance, the constant traffic of the city. At least it wasn't so loud out here in the sort-of-in-between-the-city-and-suburbs suburbs. She turned the key and opened the door, flicking on the light.

"Abby?" She called. "The mac and cheese is in the pantry!"

"Okay…" A voice came from upstairs. Her younger sister appeared a few seconds later in a tank top and sweats. "I heard you got abducted again." She commented calmly.

Cherry ran a hand through her hair, sighing, then rubbed her eyes, smearing her makeup. "Yeah. Seems to happen a lot, huh?" There was a long, awkward pause. Cherry cleared her throat. "So, anything interesting happen at school?"

Abby opened the pantry door, stretching to see the top shelf. "Nothing much. It was my birthday…"

Cherry nearly dropped her sniper. "What?!" Her greenish brown eyes widened.

Abby glared at her. "You're too busy getting kidnapped to pay attention. I tried to call you."

Cherry scratched her elbow sheepishly. "Sorry… I forgot. And it's not my fault people have an obsession with holding me for ransom. What do you want? A gun? I could get you a bazooka. Or some ninja stars."

Abby slammed the pantry door shut, tears falling down her face, surprising Cherry. "Why can't you just be normal?! You don't have to be some weird assassin lady! You could work at a candle store for all I care! But you are always missing or taking off in the middle of the night! And there's over a hundred loaded guns in this house alone! How many are in your car?!"

Cherry blinked, her velvet red hair falling into her face. "You know why I have to do this."

Abby furiously wiped the tears from her eyes. "No. You don't. Just because mom and dad are dead, doesn't mean-"

"That's enough, Abby." Cherry snapped. "It's a job. It's not like I'm sneaking through the city killing random people. I protect people! That means I have to make personal sacrifices so that the Chitauri attack doesn't happen again!"

"You're never here anymore." Abby's mouth was a wobbly line. Cherry moved to give Abby a hug, but the younger girl snapped, wheeling away. "Leave me alone!" The teen charged up the stairs, a door banging loudly.

Cherry groaned in annoyance, trying not to lose her temper. She set the sniper on the kitchen table, trudging up the stairs to Abby's room. She knocked once. "Abby!" She called. There was no response.

Cherry shuffled into her bedroom, closing the door softly. She flopped onto her bed, falling asleep almost instantly, spiraling into dreams of monsters and explosions and death. And Loki. Always Loki. Because it was his fault her life was like this.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! If any of you know me, I'm the author of Sorrow's Pain and YES... this is the story that I gave you a Sneak Peek to. Please... you know... do those things that every author on this site tells you to do after reading a chapter of their story... follow... favorite... comment :D Come on board and join me! I give out free imaginary chocolate chip cookies! <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

There was no biting pain in his mouth when he next woke. No cold metal that prevented people from hearing his words. No muzzle.

Loki's eyes snapped open, light blinding him, causing his eyes to ache in rebellion. He blinked and blinked until he could see the strange things surrounding him. The white sheets, the monitors, the bags of fluid suspended on a pole by his bed, the needle stuck in his arm. The one way window disguised as a mirror on the wall opposite of him.

He wiggled his numb fingers and toes until he could feel them, tried lifting his arm and failed. His eyes drifted down to the leather cuffs holding him to the bed.

So he waited. He waited for his new captors to come into the room and introduce themselves. How many more people would he be passed to? He didn't know. First Asgard, then Jotunheim, then he had been captured by Him… and now, now he was somewhere else in the universe. Somewhere that wasn't with the Mad Titan or the Frost Giants or rioting Asgardians.

Where was he, then?

The door opened.

Loki jumped, surprised.

A man he knew from somewhere came in, then another man, and another. Then a woman. These people were familiar, the memory making his head throb harder. A person from his more recent memories came through the door. Red hair, brown eyes, tight black uniform. She was from his cell. The last place he had been.

"Well, if it isn't Real Power. You back for that magazine?" A tall, dark man with one eye commented coldly.

Loki tried to respond, but only managed a weak cough.

"And here we all thought you had gone back with Thor."

The gears in Loki's mind ground together, trying to process anything and everything at once. Thor. One-eyed dark man. Red-headed lady who was in his cell.

The invasion of New York.

Loki groaned, his head spinning faster. This was Fury. And the two other men were the Man of Iron and the giant green Monster in his human form. The woman was the Black Widow. But he did not know the other woman. And why did both women have red hair? Was that a common thing among mortal women?

"We tried contacting Asgard and guess what? They've been ignoring us. So, you are our prisoner from now on and there are a few problems you get to work out for us. Such as why there are still groups of Chitauri raiding us seemingly without a leader."

Loki choked on the air that rushed into his lungs. Asgard was ignoring him. Thor was ignoring him. Thor still didn't care what happened. And now he was going to slave away for the mortals.

Fury's eye narrowed. "Of course, you won't be working alone. Agent Sparks will be working with you, seeing as the rest of us are busy putting out resurfacing fires of yours from four years ago."

"So I'm only getting chosen for this assignment because nobody else would do it?" The lady named "Agent Sparks" huffed.

"Yes." Fury snapped coldly. "You better get used to it, _Agent_."

Agent Sparks glared at the Spy. "Yes, _Uncle_. I'll be happy to do your bidding… again."

Fury turned and walked out the door without another word, followed by the Captain and Banner. That left a seething Agent Sparks and a cold, venomous Widow. Loki watched as Sparks crossed the room and stood right next to his bed, glaring down at him. The Widow lingered in a corner, watching every twitch of his finger.

Loki sighed and closed his eyes, tuning out Spark's angry words, which seemed to mash together in an unintelligible mess. She didn't seem to be talking to him. More like talking at him. Talking to the Widow maybe.

But right now, he was too tired to comprehend anything that had just happened. Thoughts of Fury and Banner, Widow, Stark and Sparks blurred in his mind until it was blank.

He fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Cherry hissed in frustration. "He's asleep! I can't believe he just fell asleep while I was ranting!"<p>

Natasha's lips were set in a grim line. "If he doesn't think you're worth listening to, he won't listen. He believes us mortals are all beneath him. He's a god. He doesn't care what you have to say."

Cherry sank onto a chair by Loki's bed, glaring at the man-god. "Why did Fury have to assign _me_ to do this? I know he hates me… but this is just not… not fair."

Natasha leaned against the wall, folding her arms over her chest. "Do you think it would be fair to assign someone else to do this? Other people have lost just as much as you have because of him."

Cherry glanced at the pale person lying on the bed. His hair a huge knot, his face a colorful purple, red, and white. His arms cut up and chafed. This didn't look at all like the conqueror who had been on the news and all over the internet, who destroyed half of New York with an alien army, who killed thousands of people. This man-god-thing looked weak.

"You're right." Cherry whispered.

Natasha's brow rose in question, but she remained silent. Cherry stood up, not casting another glance at the almost dead god. Before she reached the door, Natasha spoke up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to shoot something." And with that, Cherry left.

* * *

><p><em>Loki and Thor ran swiftly through the palace, leaving their old tutor in the dust. They giggled and laughed, giddy with freedom from that afternoon's studying. The two princes rounded the corner, running into some servants and causing them to drop their trays. But the boys didn't care to stop, they only hurried past the now angry maids.<em>

_After a few minutes of running, they stopped to catch their breath. They both paused and looked at each other. A tense, silent second filled the air before they both burst out laughing once more. "Brother! You are most skilled! How did you make that illusion?" The young Thor asked incredulously._

_Loki grinned, blue eyes shining bright. "Mother taught me how!" Loki said proudly._

_Thor looked utterly disappointed. "Why does she teach you all the cool stuff?" He whined._

_"You said just yesterday that magic was for girls."_

_Thor laughed, punching his brother's arm. "It is! That's why you learned it from mother! Father says magic is for girls! You must be a girl!"_

_Loki glared childishly at his elder brother. Soon, they were both on the floor, fists swinging at each other clumsily. "Take that back!"_

_Thor was laughing hysterically. One moment, the brothers were laughing and scheming together, the next they were fighting and hurting each other. "Loki's a girl! Loki's a girl! You'll never be strong like me!" Thor chanted. Loki charged at Thor, but Thor clumsily dodged, sending Loki flying past him. Thor was still laughing, not realizing that his brother was now on the floor crying._

_After a moment, Thor finally noticed. He knelt down next to the younger boy. "Stop being so sensitive, brother!" Thor said heartily. Loki looked at him with a broken look that Thor would remember for the rest of his life. "What is wrong this time?" Thor asked, slightly impatient._

_"I want to be like you! I want to be strong!" Loki said, tears sliding down his cheeks._

_Thor's brotherly compassion finally kicked in. "I am sorry for what I said, brother. I didn't mean it…."_

_"Everyone else does! They all say I'm small… and you're so strong! Father likes you more than me because you're stronger."_

_"Father doesn't like me more!" Thor protested._

_"Father has always favored you… Even mother favors you. She only spends time with me to make me feel better. I'm nobody's favorite." Loki sniffled._

_Thor wrapped his arms around the younger boy. "You're my favorite." He said, patting Loki's back. "And I will slay any who say that you aren't!"_

_This brought a smile to the younger prince's face. And just for that moment, that small little moment, Loki felt truly happy. He may not be Odin's favorite, but he was Thor's favorite. Even though this experience would be forgotten quickly and replaced by a new one, Loki knew that someone loved him. On that perfect day in Asgard, in the perfect golden halls of a perfect palace, all was peaceful._

The corners of Loki's mouth perked up, causing the doctors surrounding him to wonder what vile thing he was dreaming of.

Little did he know, tomorrow would be the start of something new.

* * *

><p><strong>Comment<strong>

**Favorite**

**Follow**

**Thank You**

**:)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Abby! You're going to be late for school! Get down here or you're not getting a ride!" Cherry called.

Abby stormed down the stairs, swinging her backpack over her shoulder and tugging on her last boot. She glared at Cherry the whole way to the car, and in the car she refused to meet Cherry's gaze, staring heatedly out the window.

"You can't ignore me forever." Cherry flipped on her turn signal, passing a car that was actually going the speed limit.

"You're going thirty over." Abby muttered.

"Can't get pulled over. Have a Shield badge on the back of the truck. For all they know, I could be chasing a villain."

"Aren't you breaking the law?"

Cherry laughed. "I break the law all the time. Laws are more of… guidelines... than actual rules."

There was a hint of a smile on Abby's lips, but she was trying hard not to show her amusement. "Isn't that from Pirates of the Caribbean?"

"No. It's something they teach us in Shield 101. I mean, Natasha and Clint don't obey the law. Fury definitely doesn't obey the law."

Abby rolled her eyes, going back to angry again.

"Listen," Cherry sighed. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday. I can't exactly decide when I get abducted."

The brunette teen sitting next to her glared at the dashboard. "Yes, you can. It's called getting a normal job. You wouldn't get abducted if you worked at Walmart or McDonald's. When you go to work, you dress like you're going into the middle of a battle zone." Abby gestured to Cherry's outfit. A black bullet-proof vest that looked exactly like a black jacket to the untrained eye, dark sunglasses, Shield badge, gun sling, a communicator, extra ammo, and combat boots with steel-tipped heels. She didn't have to wear the boots, but she did because she could.

"Do you remember what happened four years ago? When that freaky god invaded New York and killed thousands of people with an alien army?"

Abby nodded.

"Well, Earth was defenseless. If it wasn't for the Avengers, we would all be slaves right now." Cherry had to bite her tongue to keep from telling Abby about Loki mysteriously reappearing on Earth, the strange Chitauri attacks, and how there might be another invasion coming. "If we don't do anything, Earth will fall under attack again, and we won't be prepared."

Abby muttered something, grinding her jaw in irritation.

Instead of returning to their previously awkward conversation, Cherry smiled, turning the radio onto full blast as they pulled up in front of the school. Teens stared at Cherry like she was some sort of alien. "Have fun at school. If anyone bothers you, I'll lend you my bazooka."

Abby slammed the car door shut without another word.

* * *

><p>Cherry was late. Again. But instead of worrying about whether this would affect her getting fired or not, she strode into the room. Then, she looked each one of the Shield agents in the eye before smiling and plopping down into her swivel chair, swinging her feet up onto the table, folding her arms across her chest.<p>

The other agents glanced at Fury, who was staring Cherry down with a look nobody would want to be within ten miles of. "Glad to see you finally joined us, Agent sparks." Fury ground out.

Cherry picked at the imaginary dirt under her nails. "Don't mind me interrupting. Go on. I'm listening."

Fury's eye narrowed. "Someone give Agent Sparks some notes."

The agent sitting next to her was Matt, the guy who had been talking in her earpiece the night she had been abducted, which had been only a few days ago. He fixed her with a levelled stare before giving her a file folder.

Cherry flipped it open, looking at the pictures of Chitauri raiding groups taken by Shield scouts. There were lines of text under it that she didn't have to read, so instead she tried to listen to Fury's dull tone as he tried to explain what they were talking about before he was so "rudely interrupted".

She looked around the table at the other people. And to her surprise, there was Captain America sitting right next to Fury, trying not to smile. On the other side of Fury was Natasha, who looked equally parts bored and amused.

"Agent Sparks, are you even listening?" Fury asked coldly.

Cherry smirked. "Of course, Uncle Fury. I was listening to every pretty word coming out of your mouth. You were talking about how we were going to begin putting together data to see whether the Chitauri attacks form any sort of pattern, and if that has to do with the men who had Loki. And abducted me in case anyone cared about that part."

Fury continued talking, going over the results of data this, data that. More Chitauri. More strange people working against Shield. Still no contact with Asgard. Loki is finally ready to start working. This woke her up. "What?" She breathed.

Fury's eye grew wide in anger. "What now?" He snapped.

"Loki's ready to start working?"

"Yes, the doctors have said he is able to stand now, so that means he can start working. But because we don't know what Asgard wants to do with him, we can't give him a criminal punishment yet or hurt him in any way. That means no accidentally shooting him like you did the last criminal you were in charge of watching."

Instead of a snarky comeback, Cherry grew suddenly quiet. She knew in just an hour or so she would have to start working with a monster. Agents stood up and started filing out of the room, the meeting over.

Cherry felt a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" Natasha asked.

Cherry coughed. "Yeah. Just tired. Got home late last night." She stood up, shrugging off Natasha's hand.

Natasha glanced at the fading bruise on Cherry's jaw. "How's your jaw?"

Cherry touched the bruise. "Doesn't hurt anymore. You have a strong swing. You should teach me how to hit like that sometime."

Natasha nodded and left.

Cherry stood there for a while, flipping her phone over and over in her hand until she accidentally dropped it. She bent down and picked it up, seeing the file that had been sitting in front of her. She pocketed her phone and opened the file.

Before, she had only skimmed through the pictures. Now, she read the text. It talked about the sites the Chitauri were targeting, which was seemingly random. There was a paragraph on Loki and his link to the Chitauri, which was now undetectable. There was no more random Tesseract power around him or anything abnormal besides being an alien Prince. She read about how they had tried contacting Thor through Jane Foster, but the scientist hadn't been able to reach him for four years.

Cherry snapped the file closed, tucking it under her arm, and began walking through Shield headquarters. She slid her I.D. card into the elevator clearance device and pushed the button that would take her to the underground medical bunker.

She would have to face this one head on. No contact with Asgard. Random Chitauri. "Recovered" alien prince. And an angry sister to top it all off. She slid her I.D. card through the scanner one more time, let it scan her thumb and eye, and stepped off the elevator.

Loki's new room was Room 27 in the East Wing. Though he wasn't in critical condition, if Loki tried to escape, he was a mile underground and didn't have an I.D. card to get him into the elevator, or the DNA to make it move. He would be trapped underground until he was sedated. Which is why when she opened the door, the first thing she noticed was the thin metal collar around his neck that would pump sedating fluid into his blood stream with the click of a button.

She smiled.

And when the Norse God first saw her, he smirked.

And neither of them bothered to care that both expressions were empty.

* * *

><p>Thor battled the icy winds of Jotunheim, the Lady Sif following closely behind him. His hands were going numb with cold, his feet already lost to touch. He turned, the wind whipping his hair into his face as he scouted the surrounding whiteness. It was getting dark.<p>

Sif unsheathed her sword, sticking it into the ground, leaning on it. Thor raised an eyebrow, only to see that she was about to fall over. Thor pulled her arm over his shoulder, her body slumping against his. "We've been here for over two days! We aren't going to find him in this weather!" Sif shouted weakly over the hissing winds of the storm.

Thor sighed, the puff of breath immediately whisked away into the storm. "We have to find him!"

"He's been gone for four years, Thor! If he isn't here, he's dead!" Sif coughed, choking on snow that flew into her mouth.

Thor's numbing hands clenched into fists. "This is our only lead! It has taken years just to find it! The longer we wait, the farther Loki is!"

The wind was howling, snow turning into sharp ice, hitting their exposed faces, leaving tiny cuts. "What if he wasn't taken?! What is this is all one giant goose chase that Loki has lead us on?! We will have died on this frozen wasteland for no reason!" Sif's voice was being torn away by the brutal ice.

Thor's lips pulled into a thin line. He glanced around their surroundings once more. Snow, ice, wind. No visible hills, mountains, caves, or people. Nothing to be seen past an arm's length in front of him. The sinking feeling in his chest finally hit rock-bottom. Four years of pointless searching. Wasted time. He sighed. "Heimdall!" Thor called at the top of his lungs.

He looked around one last time before they were swallowed up in a vortex of color.

Loki was gone or dead. And either way, Thor was never going to see his treacherous brother again.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was a bit choppy, but if you've ever written a story, you'll know it's hard to keep the plot going if you've been sick for a week and haven't been able to write. Anyways... hope you liked it. :) If you have any questions or ideas, don't hesitate to PM me. I don't bite :D <strong>

**Comment**

**Favorite**

**Follow**

**Thanks!**

**:D**


	5. Chapter 5

Cherry's smile stayed plastered onto her face, no matter how much she wanted to strangle the man sitting in front of her. He was studying her, scrutinizing her every flaw.

She noticed his bruising had faded considerably, but there were still cuts around his mouth where the muzzle had been. And she saw no sign of fear in his gaze. No shaking or backing into a corner or flinching at her presence. She tried to find anything that would expose his cover. She had seen it with her own eyes. And she was guessing he knew this. But where had that trauma gone?

"So, you are Agent Sparks. I was informed that you are the one-eyed man's niece. Though I know not why that information would be crucial for our time in the future. I suppose it was a threat."

Cherry folded her arms in front of her chest. "Not likely."

Loki's eyebrows raised a fraction, a mocking smirk growing. "I do not see how you could possibly be related to the dear old Director Fury. You clearly do not have the same skin color."

"Adopted. And as you said earlier, I don't see how this is important to our work." Cherry's jaw locked.

Loki laid back on the bed, seemingly uninterested with her. "Mortals. All so simple-minded."

Cherry pulled the gun off her back and clicked the bullet into the chamber, training it on Loki's head. "If you even start with that 'mortals' stuff, I'll shoot you."

Loki laughed, his shoulders shaking with a silent chuckle. "I suppose I should assume that you could hurt me with that piece of metal. Would you prefer I call you an Earthling? Midgardian? Perishable? Shortly Corporeal? Momentarily Somatic?"

Cherry had to force her finger off the trigger, remembering she couldn't "accidentally" shoot him. She hesitantly slung the gun back over her shoulder and resumed her uptight stance. "What do you know of the Chitauri?"

Loki stopped laughing, amusement ebbing away. "Many things."

Cherry waited for him to continue, but he didn't. "Why are they still on Earth?"

Loki's face pulled into a sneer. "You think you are the first person to ask me that very question? I refuse to say. I may know, I may not know. Either way, I coul-wouldn't tell you."

Couldn't and Wouldn't are two very different words. Loki was grinning, seeing her confusion. Cherry felt frustrated. He had either purposefully messed up those words to throw her off, or sincerely slipped on his word choices. She scratched her elbow, trying not to look so confused and agitated. But she knew she was doing a poor job of it.

Loki stood up. "As far as I am concerned, you truly are a dull-witted mortal. And as long as Asgard refuses to respond to Midgard's call, you can't touch me." Loki was standing a mere arm's length away from her, staring her down, smiling.

It was Cherry's turn to smile at this. "No. We can't kill you, but we can 'touch' you."

"And who's 'we'? Your little posse?" Loki grinned.

Cherry felt her heart beat fast. He didn't care what happened, as long as he caused damage while doing it. He wouldn't go by the rules. He wouldn't play fair. She saw this in his eyes, the way he laughed and grinned and strutted about as though he was still in charge… even though it was she who held the weapon. And that made him all the more dangerous. He wasn't reckless… he wanted to play with danger. He knew how to.

"_We_ will begin working on finding the Chitauri. _We_ will get it done so that _I_ don't have to see _your_ smug face longer than I have to. _We_ will be tracking down Chitauri starting tomorrow. And _you_ will cooperate."

She turned away sharply before she could see his amusement. She heard him bark out a manic laugh, low and crazed. And then she could feel his breath on her ear, his voice beside her though nothing was there, a whisper so faint the recorder in her jacket wouldn't be able to pick it up. "An ant has no quarrel with a boot, but it may still be stepped on and killed. Do not mess with me, little red ant, or you may be stepped on."

A shiver shot through Cherry's spine, and she couldn't stop herself from looking back at him. He was crazy. His eyes held deranged excitement, wild and dangerous. She didn't know why he had to compare ants to mortals, but it scared her. She knew this is what he was trying to do, scare her. And it was working.

She hurried out of the room before he could say anything else, but she could still hear him laughing. She cursed herself, knowing she should have been tougher, stood her ground. But she couldn't. She could only see a monster, a monster that was waiting to devour her whole if she even blinked.

And she remembered her dead friends and family. Her adoptive parents. Her three younger brothers, all under the age of ten. Her older brother who had just finished college and would have been a teacher. Her best friend. The dog she'd had since she was five years old.

The flames that had roared through the building as a Chitauri aircraft slammed into their living room where they had been watching the commotion outside, having nowhere else to go. Her mother looking at her, telling her to take Abby into the back bedroom as she grabbed the three youngest, her older brother and father hurrying everyone else away from the wall.

And then, the wall disappeared. And blood was everywhere. And there was screaming. And Abby, who was unconscious, her head split open by a flying brick. And Cherry's clothes were on fire, consuming her skin and burning her alive. And the rest of her family was buried under the rubble, a terrifying alien thrown across the room by the impact lying right next to her, its open mouth filled with rotted teeth. And the only reason she and Abby had survived was because they were a foot in front of the rest.

"Hey." Cherry's brownish-green eyes snapped to Natasha's. The Black Widow had been watching her. And Cherry had been leaning against the wall, shaking.

Cherry quickly pushed away from the wall, forcing a grin onto her face. She was the happy one. The carefree one. The one that others looked to for enjoyment and ease. But Natasha saw through everything, being an actor herself. "I don't think Loki's going to cooperate very much. He is convinced we can't touch him."

Natasha nodded. "Reminds me of Stark."

Cherry laughed. "Stark listens to me just fine."

"That's because you don't listen to anyone, just like himself." Natasha almost smiled. "I came down here to check on you, but looks like you're doing fine." And even as the words left the spy's lips, Cherry knew she was playing along. "Get yourself a coffee or something."

Cherry grimaced. "Coffee and I don't get along. The last time I drank coffee, I had to be sedated because I started arguing with Fury… and I might have been a bit trigger happy."

"Get yourself something, then. You need it."

Cherry sighed, taking her hair out of its ponytail and playing with the hair band. "I still have to work today. Fury wants me to start on the Chitauri coordinates with Loki."

"I'll tell him you're sick." Natasha began walking down the hall.

"Thanks." Cherry said, turning on her phone and looking at the time. It was a little past noon. She had a few hours to waste before picking up Abby.

"Agent Sparks." Natasha said, halfway down the hall.

Cherry raised her eyebrows.

"Don't let him get to you. Most of the time, he's only words."

Cherry nodded. Natasha disappeared into the elevator, leaving Cherry alone in the white-washed halls.

_picking you up after school. don't take the bus_

Cherry sent the text to Abby, hoping Abby's phone was on silent. She pocketed her phone and took the long trip to get out into the Shield parking garage, unlocking her car and driving home to the sound of Imagine Dragons.

* * *

><p>Loki's facade dropped as soon as the mortal left the room. He slumped back onto the medical bed, knowing full well that he had scared her off. In the past, he would have laughed. But the look in her eyes. She thought he the very devil itself, risen from Helheim to destroy everything. He supposed he should have been satisfied.<p>

But he was tired.

Tired of being insane. Tired of the fear he had to hide every time a pebble dropped.

_"And one… and one… and one… and none…" A cracked whisper came from the dark corner. The shadow in the far corner of the small, claustrophobic cage rocked back and forth on its heels. Its bloodshot eyes were wide with fear and panic, its ears ever alert for the footsteps it knew would come for it eventually. A puddle of blood slowly grew under it, and even more blood coated its body. Its black hair was a tangled, matted mess. Its skin was stretched alarmingly tight, with too many scars and wounds and welts. It cowered in the corner of the room like an animal, but this animal used to be a god._

Loki cast the memories to the pit of his mind, yet his tongue began to utter the line anyways. "And one… and one… and one… and none…" Loki grit his teeth, trying to stop himself from speaking.

But in his mind, he heard the real meaning. And Odin and Frigga and Thor and… none. Loki wasn't part of that family. And then came the biting, lashing venom of realization that Frigga was dead. She was dead, still. As much as he fantasized her living and breathing, there to welcome him home but reprimand him… she was dead.

"And one…"

Loki cradled his head in his hands.

"And one…"

His pupils dilated, his irises thin rings of color.

"And one…"

His heart hammered, beating in his chest, sweat running down his face.

"And none…"

And then, he let it go. He laughed and laughed and laughed, choking on his own breath, trying to breathe through strangled gasps of intense laughter. He laughed until pain grew in his chest and those laughs turned into something related to sobs.

If only the mortal could see him now. Then, then she would be truly terrified.

* * *

><p>Cherry's arms were locked across her chest, sitting in her car, waiting for Abby. Afternoon sunlight filtered through her windows, golden and hot. Too hot. She turned on the air conditioning. She wore her dark, reflecting sunglasses so that people couldn't see her hollow, staring eyes.<p>

His words rang through her mind. _"Do not mess with me, little red ant, or you may be stepped on."_

She shivered, feeling as though the air conditioning was only enhancing Loki's words, somehow. She turned it off and let the car heat up again, preferring the heat to the cold. Bloody screams and rotting teeth of aliens and flames filled her thoughts, which is why she jumped when the car door opened and Abby hopped it.

Abby refused to look at Cherry, still angry.

Cherry didn't care to try and appease her sister at the moment. Let her throw her teenage tantrum, Cherry thought. But Cherry also couldn't even get her mouth to open and form words. None wanted to come out.

They drove in silence. Abby finally looked over at her sister. Cherry's jaw was locked, she was scratching her arm, her shades over her eyes. And she wasn't smiling or talking… the radio stayed silent, the car boiling hot. This could only mean that something happened at Work. She set aside her grudge-match, trying to remind herself what her sister did on a daily basis.

"You okay?" Abby asked.

Cherry only nodded, velvet red hair slowly coming out of her ponytail.

Abby was quiet for a moment before she asked. "What happened?"

Cherry sighed, flipping on her turn signal and turning into a drive thru. "Classified."

Abby rolled her eyes. "You say that whenever you're like this. Can't you just tell me? I mean, it's not like I'd tell anyone. And nobody can hear us in here."

"Not now, Abby. What do you want?"

Abby glared at Cherry. "Ice cream."

Cherry's lips perked into a smile. "I didn't know someone could say 'ice cream' so… angry." The smile turned into a grin.

Abby tried to hide her smile. "Chocolate, please." She tried to sound angry.

Cherry laughed. "To chocolate ice creams, please." She repeated to the speaker outside the car.

It was quiet again as they pulled up to the window. They waited. And while they waited, Cherry's phone rang. Cherry picked it up, using her shoulder to hold it to her ear as she was handed their ice cream cones. She handed one of the cones to Abby, having forgotten to check the caller I.D.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, babe."_

Cherry groaned in annoyance. "Damian, I told you to stop calling me. We're through. Over. Never to be together again."

_"Babe, I know. But I miss you so much."_

Cherry rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

_"Can I borrow some money? I'll pay you back, I promise."_

Cherry hung up, tossing her phone to Abby. Abby caught the phone and turned it off, hiding it before Cherry could think about throwing it out the window. "Why can't you just block his number?" Abby asked.

"He'll just find another phone. Or start following me again. I'm thinking of sniping him the next time I see him."

"Is shooting your solution to everything?" Abby asked.

Cherry grinned. "It's the easiest solution."

* * *

><p><strong>There we are! Chapter 5! Favorite, follow, and comment please! :) Loki and Cherry have a long way to go, but I think I can pull it off. Suggestions welcome!<strong>


End file.
